The film language
Handout
Part 2
Pivoting and Moving the Camera
Camera can be moved: forward, backward, to the side
Camera pivots: from right to the left, from low to high angle
Camera can sweep through the air
Camera stays where it is
Pivoting and Zooming
Movement in two ways: 1.) horizontal or vertical axis
2.) using a zoom lens
Forward and backward zooms introduce only apparent movements
Pan or panamic shot:
o camera pivots on a vertical axis and turns in a horizontal plane
o swivels from side to side
o 360 spot: the camera rotates in a complete circle
o swish pan: a rapid pan renders the image as streacks
o the pan can survey a wide, horizontal field of view or swing from one
subject to another within a more limited field
o From Here To Eternity (1953) symbolic pan
Tilt ir tilting shot
o camera pivots on a horizontal axis and moves in a vertical plane
Moving Camera Shots
the operator or the camera platform will move from one location to another
the most common moving camera shots are hand-held, track, dolly and crane
shots
pan and tilt is also considered a camera movement, but of a different way
Hand-held shot
o perfectly smooth
o instability of the normal hand-held shot introduces a desireable jerkiness, a
feeling of informality, or the impression of impromptu shoting under
realistic conditions
o The War Game chaos of food riot instable shot
Track or trucking shot
o Camera platform moves along rails that are very like a pair of railroad
tracks
o Used as a generic term for any forward, backward, lateral or curving
camera movement executed on the ground (regardless of wheter the camera
platform has rubber wheels (dolly) or moves on steel rails)
o the term adverts to the use of a moving car or a wheelchair
Dolly shot
o Involves more intricate movements than the average track shot
o The Conformist (1971 B. Bertolucci) dance scene: the camera crosses
the dance floor and seems to dance itself
Boom or crane shot
o Camera is mounted on a large, cantilevered boom or arm that is itself
attached to a vehicle called a crane
o The system is balanced for grace and smoothness
o Aerial shot: the camera support actually leaves the ground (helicopter)
o Young and Innocent
Specialized Functions and Characteristics
Some shots are identified by the specialized functions they play in a film or by
other unique characteristics
These functions: establishing shot, the master shot, the POV shot, the cutaway,
the insert, the two-shot, the follow shot, the reaction shot, the matte shot, the
composite and the superimposition or double exposure
Shots have slow, fast and normal motion
Establishing shot
o introduces the location where the action will take place
o long shot
Master shot
o overview of a scene that is capable of taking in all of its major action
o full or long shot
o master shot: more particularized views
Insert
o shot of an unmoving object that is cut into a scene or sequence
Two-shot
o view of two people
Follow or following shot
o the camera moves in order to keep a moving subject in view
o follow-focus: art of keeping the moving subject in focus
Reaction shot
o shows peoples reaction to sg
Reverse or reverse-angle shot
o reverses the field of view, usually by an angle between 120 and 160
(180 or 360 reverse is not unheard of)
o shot/reverse shot: used for conversations between people who are facing
each other
o over-the-shoulder shot: view over one persons shoulder to the face
Matte Shots and Composites
Mask or matte card
o produces an image of certain desired shape
Matte shot:
o part of the frame has been blocked out
o single image created through the sequential use of a matte and a countermatte
o shots can be conbined into a single image without overlap
o travelling matte: opaque pattern that changes shape with every frame
composite
o a shot that has been composed from material in several different shots or
pre-print materials
o composite print: has both sound and picture
dissolve: one image melts into another that comes to replace it, is produced by
superimposing a fade-out over a fade-in
wipe:
o one image displaces another without any fading or overlap (both are
onscreen at the same time)
o wipe line: two images point of conjunction
o horizontal wipe: the line moves from screen right to left, or the reverse
